Rankings
Pound For Pound Rankings
Already considered one of the greatest fighters of all-time, Jones says he wants to turn his attention to heavyweight and has no intention of returning to 205 pounds.
Usman has five consecutive defenses of the UFC welterweight title and is now in the discussion as the greatest welterweight of all time.
While he failed in his bid to become a champ-champ, Adesanya looked quite dominant in his most recent middleweight title defense and is expected to face Robert Whittaker next.
After suffering the first knockout loss of his career, Johnson openly contemplated the idea of potentially competing in kickboxing next and ultimately booked himself an intriguing mixed rules matchup.
Upcoming Fight: vs Ciryl Gane | Jan 22, 2022 – UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane
Ngannou claimed the UFC heavyweight title with a brilliant win over Stipe Miocic but is now openly expressing his frustration with the promotion after an interim title fight was announced.
Volkanovski has certainly been tested in his time as UFC champion, but he continues to gut out impressive performance and now owns an incomprehensible 20-fight win streak.
Miocic apologized for deviating from the gameplan against the dangerous Francis Ngannou, a mistake that cost him the UFC heavyweight title.
The undefeated Bellator champion looked absolutely incredible in his run through the promotion’s featherweight grand prix and is willing to take on anyone in defense of his new title.
Upcoming Fight: vs Deiveson “Deus da Guerra” Figueiredo | Jan 22, 2022 – UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane
Moreno claimed gold with a scintillating victory over Deiveson Figueiredo and now seems destined for stardom in his native Mexico.
Upcoming Fight: vs Brandon “The Assassin” Moreno | Jan 22, 2022 – UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane
Figueiredo handed over his UFC title with a submission loss to new champ Brandon Moreno but will get his chance to regain the belt in their upcoming trilogy fight.
Upcoming Fight: vs Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier | Dec 11, 2021 – UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier
It was a long way to the top for ‘Do Bronx,’ but Oliveira is truly firing on all cylinders now and will look to put together a run as UFC lightweight champion.
Upcoming Fight: vs Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira | Dec 11, 2021 – UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier
Poirier continues to be one of the most exciting fighters in the game, and his grit is immeasurable – qualities he hopes will net him the UFC lightweight title.
Time will tell if Bader’s days as an elite light heavyweight are done, but after a disappointing loss at 205 pounds, he still remains the Bellator heavyweight champion and will turn his attention there.
Holloway delivered a record-breaking destruction of Calvin Kattar and now looks to get another crack at the UFC title with a win over Yair Rodriguez.
Whittaker is on quite the run since losing the UFC middleweight title and is waiting on an official date for a rematch with Israel Adesanya.
Honorable Mentions
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Nov. 30: Bantamweight stakes center stage
No major mixed martial arts this past week meant no changes across the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, but that’s sure to change after this week with bantamweight taking center stage in a pair of main events.
On Friday at Bellator 272, Sergio Pettis will put his 135-pound title on the line against Kyoji Horiguchi. Then on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 31, Rob Font and Jose Aldo square off in a pivotal bout at the top of the division.
Check out where those fighters rank in the dropdown above and be sure to find out next week where things stand.
Ranking Criteria
The rankings take into account a fighter’s wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.
Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they’ve been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.
Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they’re not inactive for more than 24 months.
To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter’s primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, non-titleholders can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won’t be ranked in a new weight class until they’ve had their first fight at that weight.